Reservations !!!

[sarahluvsdisney]

Whats up with disneys reservation system lately?
There was a time when you could call up and get a room and a dining ressie fairly easily but now its always a hassle.
The last 3 times I have been to disney(Within the last 6 weeks ) I have had a real problem getting a room - even at full price - forget the AP and FL res discounts. The same goes for restaurants - it does not seem to matter what date or what time all the restaurants are booked.
Why is it such hard work ? It never used to be so difficult. They could always find a room for you but now its like getting blood from a stone !!

Has the reservation system changed ??

 

[tarheel618]

I just had the same problem tonight. All they had were Villas for 600 + a night. I booked through Orbitz to get my room.

 

[Harvestmooner]

Wasn't it free dining the last 6 weeks-so it would be very busy.

 

[Lynne M]

I don't think their reservation system has changed, I think occupancy has been way up.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I have had a lot of trouble getting a room reservation...what I had been able to accomplish with one call in the past now takes several calls....it seems that the policy of not being able to book 2 rooms in the same name is creating quite a mess. Before you could simply list who was in each room and now the 2nd room has to be a completely separate reservation...

 

[dizzy203]

I had the same problem when I booked my reservations for Oct. I already had a week and wanted to add 3 days to it. They said the only thing they had was was at ASMu or a junior suite at the Coronado. I couldn't believe every other hotel was booked! For the free dining you had to check in before Sept 23rd (?). I know it wasn't free dining when I was there. Do they not have enough housekeepers to clean all the rooms so they're not booking all of them?

 

[hockeybabe]

There are a few other factors to consider. One is that some people are booking several room-only reservations in the hope that a code will come out, due to the fact that there is no penalty for cancelling until 5 days before your trip. Some people are booking only one reservation, but over a year in advance, to guarantee their reservation...for some, they only get to go once every two years, and don't want to lose their choice of resort. I'm sure very few hotels elsewhere in the US have such advance bookings. CSR is a convention resort, so it blocks off a cetain number of rooms for the various conventions, then releases the unbooked ones when they feel that the conventioners had ample time to book. WDW has to accomdate for the AAA discounts, AP and FL AP rooms, so they have to block those until the discount period is up, then they can open them up to the general public.

Dining ADR's can now be made 190 days out, and again, some people are double booking so they can cancel whichever one doesn't work for them. Since there is no deposit or penalty for cancelling, people are able to book and cancel as many times as they want during the 190 day period. If they are predicting free dining, they'll start booking the second they can. And you don't have to have a resort reservation to book an ADR, in fact, I'm pretty sure you don't even have to be staying on Disney property to book an ADR.

Just some thoughts!

 

[MommySiobhan]

I am having a problem trying to locate a room at the CR or the POLY for NEXT November.

Joking aside, the opinion seems to be that all of the rooms are not yet released.
I try daily. A few days ago the poly was available and by that night it wasn't.

I keep trying each day to see if one of them becomes available.
Besides that I am contemplating trying to rent points for DVC.

 

[Joan1]

Whats up with disneys reservation system lately?
There was a time when you could call up and get a room and a dining ressie fairly easily but now its always a hassle.
The last 3 times I have been to disney(Within the last 6 weeks ) I have had a real problem getting a room - even at full price - forget the AP and FL res discounts. The same goes for restaurants - it does not seem to matter what date or what time all the restaurants are booked.
Why is it such hard work ? It never used to be so difficult. They could always find a room for you but now its like getting blood from a stone !!

Has the reservation system changed ??

Simple answer - tourism is back up to where it was pre 9/11
Plus with message boards like this one many more people plan ahead instead of last minute
Disney has really increased their convention bookings and that takes up a lot of rooms in a hotel

 

[safetymom]

Guest demand is high for the rooms and restaurants.

 

[flamom]

guess i got lucky.called CRO around 9:30 this morning,they picked up right away,made a reservation for 12/14-12/17 with a fla res.discount,no problem.staying at carribean beach for the first time,can't wait to tell my children!

 

[MermaidsMom]

I saw a couple being interviewed on a news show yesterday and they were asked what they thought about the economy. They said they go to Disney quite often and it's always very busy so they think the economy is doing much better than the reporters are telling people. I have to agree with them!
Disney is a pretty good indicator of what's going on in the country.

 

[lustergirl]

I just made dinner ressies for next April- my mom and I are going solo for the flower festival at epcot. I had no trouble getting Chef Mickey's, Liberty Tree Tavern, and the Luau Show- but of course this is a few months in advance. I like to plan ahead of course.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I saw a couple being interviewed on a news show yesterday and they were asked what they thought about the economy. They said they go to Disney quite often and it's always very busy so they think the economy is doing much better than the reporters are telling people. I have to agree with them!
Disney is a pretty good indicator of what's going on in the country.

I work at a Food Stamp office. We can always tell when things are headed south. I look for next year to be a less busy one for WDW.